SWEET-POTATO STORAGE STUDIES. 5 



fore beginning work each year and checked at occasional intervals 

 while in use; they were all of the 7-day type, and the record sheets 

 were changed each Monday, thus giving a continuous record for 

 each storage season. 



The selection and the grading of the potatoes for each test were 

 done by the investigators or by careful men under their direction. 

 Shrinkage and decay were determined by weight. The percentages 

 of shrinkage as recorded in the tables are progressive; that is, the 

 record of loss at any period shows the total loss from harvest until 

 that time. 



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Fig. 2. — Plan of the experimental storage house at the Arlington Experimental Farm, Va. 



COMPARISON OF THE KEEPING QUALITIES OF SWEET POTATOES 

 UNDER CAREFUL AND UNDER COMMERCIAL HANDLING. 



To determine the effects of methods of handling on the keeping 

 qualities of sweet potatoes, five tests were made to compare careful 

 handling in the field and in the storage house with ordinary com- 

 mercial handling. These tests were all made in good houses in the 

 South. The " careful handling " was done by men engaged in the 

 experimental work, and all the conditions except the one under in- 

 rfeBtigation were kept the same. Table 1 gives the results of the five 

 teste in the four years 1912-13 to 1915-16, inclusive. 



A Mention is called to the fact that both crate storage and bin 

 stoi -age were used in the tests. Under careful handling the minimum 

 shrinkage was 5 per cent and the maximum 9.39, the average being 

 7»52 per rent. The minimum shrinkage under commercial handling 

 was 7.40 per cent and the maximum 20.40, with an average of LO per 

 cent. The average amount of decay was 0.45 per cent under careful 

 handling and :> per cent under commercial handling. 



